The Power of Physio

The Power of Physio

Hi All!
Today I want to talk to you all about my recent physio sessions, and the ones I had two years ago too, and how they’ve actually really helped me, sometimes in ways I didn’t really expect.

Two Years Ago

So, I don’t remember if I was open about this two years ago but I had physio in the summer after my 6 mile run for the Sports Relief charity. Halfway through, or maybe two thirds of the way through my run my hip gave the sharpest pain I have ever experienced, or remember experiencing. Determined not to give up, I just slowed my pace to walk and then at the end, quite literally ran through the pain. But then that pain did not go away. I ended up at the doctors, getting x-rays and all sorts at the hospital before finally being referred to the physio department.

This was the first time I had ever had physio and I was, rightfully, nervous. I had no idea what to expect and I had no idea how quickly the exercises I had to do would start working. All I knew was that I wanted the pain to go away and I really, really wanted to be able to run again. So I went and fortunately I had a really nice physiotherapist who was really lovely. She talked me through my fears, talked me through the exercises and I just felt very confident about it all.

Naturally I went home and made sure to do the exercises I was given daily and could feel my muscles growing stronger. The therapist put the pain down to my muscles not being strong enough to sustain my joint while I was running, which is fair as I was just doing cardio and not muscle exercises. Within weeks my muscles were a lot stronger and I was able to go back running again too. I left the physio department feeling stronger and confident in my ability to look after myself.

Physio Now

I’m still not one hundred percent sure what’s going on with me. The doctors are fairly clueless as all my blood results have come back negative and so by medical standards, I should be an incredibly healthy individual but I’m not. So, as a final straw, I was sent to physio to see if they could help with the fact that my muscles continuously feel tired and exhausted as though they are simply done with carrying my body around – even my wrists and fingers are starting to get agitated with me!

I felt less nervous but still pretty nervous about this round of physio but unfortunately when I met my physiotherapy I did not feel comfortable. The therapist has an aura about her that I really struggle around. She makes me feel very small and very stupid and I just feel incredibly uncomfortable in her presence. It’s made me really not want to go to my physio sessions which is incredibly unfortunate.

This physiotherapist is concerned that my core muscles are non-existent. That because of this, it’s been putting a strain on my entire body and is the reason that I’m not in the best shape at the moment. And thus we have been working together through a series of exercises to strengthen my muscles and get them to help me feel stronger again. It’s taking longer than last time, which is probably due to being in a much worse position but I also know I am much better than I was back in January of this year.

As I spend more hours with this physiotherapist, I am becoming more comfortable around her as a person but I don’t think I’ll ever feel truly comfortable and I think that this is a very worrying factor as I feel it’s important to connect with the person who is helping me get back on my feet. So I hope that I can continue to push passed the weird atmosphere I feel around her and finally feel less awkward about going to physio.

That being said, the one thing I am so glad about is that the exercises are helping. I feel stronger and I know I feel a lot better after doing the exercises too. It has given me that tiny inkling of hope that I might, one day, be able to face the pavement again and not worry about damaging my body in the future.

Have you ever had physio? How did it work for you?